Of particularly interesting note that a serious schism is being caused by the libertarian tolerance (may I say "embrace") of our gay & lesbian siblings...

There's a meeting this month (the 27th I think) for our Boy Scout Council regarding the possibility of dropping the prohibition against homosexual Scouts/leaders. This should be interesting.

There are still plenty of people boycotting the BSA because of this stance, while there are plenty who are threatening to boycott the BSA if they reverse their stance. Then there are those of us in the middle, who support the BSA but wish they'd change this.

I can understand how some could worry about homosexual leaders taking groups of young boys out camping... on the surface it sounds like a recipe for disaster. However there are procedures in place to both protect the Scouts and to protect the leaders from any false accusations (every leader has to take Youth Security Training every year which covers these procedures in depth), if the procedures are followed then everyone is protected.

If they aren't followed... then someone is breaking the rules. However, that's true with the "no gays allowed" rule in place, so that's hardly a rationale to keep it in and of itself.

The main concern many seem to have is the moral aspect, the "duty to God" part of the oath. If you see homosexuality as 100% incompatible with God then, yes, that is a quandry. However that's hardly a universal understanding of the situation. Our chartered org is a church that has a rainbow flag on their front door... obviously they welcome homosexuals with open arms as parishioners of God (which I approve of).

However, even given all that, I still don't understand their expelling Scouts who come out as gay. There have been boys who have gone all the way through Cub Scouts from Tiger up to Weblos, then into a Troop all the way up to qualifying for their Eagle who were then denied because they came out. That's simply wrong any way you look at it. They earned it through hard work (a LOT of hard work, these are impressive young studious men!) and to be denied for something like that is... yeah, that I can't agree with, at all.

What seems likely to me is that the BSA will let each council set their policies in this regard. If so I'd lobby our council to be accepting of homosexuals as both Scouts and leaders. Why? Well, yes, I do know many homosexuals personally, some are wonderful people others aren't. in other words, they're just like EVERYONE ELSE when it comes to moral character. Just because you are straight doesn't mean you won't be a pedophile against boys (see Gacy and Sandusky for some rather graphic examples, both were married to women after all) and just because you're gay doesn't mean you're any more likely to be a pedophile. The Youth Security Training would be no different if gay scouts/leaders were allowed. And I consider my sisters to be moral people, even those who happen to be lesbian. Hell, they're more loyal church members than I am!

This really is a paradigm shift that young Conservatives are fine with. We have to be... am I supposed to alienate friends, family and co-workers because someone else has a reading of the Bible that I disagree with? What does that have to do with protecting my right to keep and bear arms, getting government spending under control, teaching people to be personally responsible, etc.? And what good does it do to punish a would-be Eagle Scout for being gay? That's not love, and it isn't moral. I don't think it is what Jesus would do if you want to go that route.